Brighter than Light
by Kinsler5
Summary: They always took each other's company for granted. They never thought of the possibility of being separated by the hands of tragedy. AU.


**Shingeki no Kyojin **

_This was going to happen eventually. I love this pair so much and sometimes I find myself crying just by thinking about them. I had to write a story even though it's probably going to rip my heart out in the process. I have so many stories I need to finish, but I just needed a jeanmarco one. _

_So, a big thanks to all of you that decided to check this story out! Feel free to leave any reviews or flames (even though that'll make me quite sad). Also, please excuse my grammatical errors and I hope you enjoy the first chapter of BTL!_

_Disclaimer: SNK doesn't belong to me and neither does the picture thumbnail. That's a picture I found on tumblr and if you want the link, I will gladly msg it to you. _

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**Brighter than Light**

**Chapter 1 - Colors**

_He had 6 crayons in his hand, but he wasn't sure which one he should start with first. He kept looking at his paper with confusion debating which color he should use first for his rainbow. The teacher had assigned them to draw something that represented the season of spring and he, being as smart as he was, decided to illustrate a perfect rainbow. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Jean dropped his crayons on the table and slumped back in his chair._

_Looking around, Jean watched as his other classmates began on their drawings. Armin, the boy with the blonde hair, was drawing what looked like a garden of flowers with bees and butterflies all around. Mikasa, the Japanese girl that hardly talked to anyone, was in the middle of drawing an enormous gray rain cloud. Eren, the annoying greened eyed boy that sat next to him, was fast asleep and he wasn't bothering with his picture at all._

_Jean, feeling a bit annoyed, felt like smacking the boy next to him for being so stupid and lazy. However, he knew better than to start problems. He was determined after all to win the cupcake the teacher had promised them if they behaved well. He wasn't about to sacrifice a chocolate cupcake for someone as dumb as Eren. Letting out a sigh, Jean looked back at his empty paper. He grabbed his crayons again and looked at them carefully. Then, it wasn't long before he decided to start off with the red one first._

_He extended the beautiful streak of red across the paper and he couldn't help but feel proud of his artistic work. He was sure that the teacher would hang it up on the wall with a big golden star on it. With a smile on his face, Jean continued drawing and coloring his rainbow. When he was finished, he leaned back against his chair and waited for the compliments of classmates._

"_That's really pretty, Jean." The boy who sat in front of him suddenly told him. Jean looked up at him and realized that it was Marco who had just complimented his piece of work. Leaning a bit closer, Marco continued to look at his picture before a confused look formed on his face. "Something doesn't seem right, though. I think you messed up with one of the colors."_

"_No way!" Jean replied a little bit to loud, but luckily enough, the teacher nor his other classmates had heard him. Jean looked at his drawing again, but he couldn't find any flaws to it. Maybe he had missed a color? Whatever it was, he was determined to fix it. "I think it looks fine. See." Jean lifted his paper so the freckled boy could see it properly. "Each color is aligned perfectly straight."_

"_Yes. It's very pretty, but some of the colors you used are not part of the rainbow." Marco told him as he placed his finger over his chin. Then, he gave him a smile and turned back to look at his drawing. "I still think it's very pretty, though. Mine isn't so good."_

_Jean looked at Marco's drawing and he immediately spotted the huge sun that was located by the side of the paper. There was also a huge tree that was covered with apples and the bottom of the paper was filled with what looked like strands of grass. It wasn't very well drawn, but it was very neat and organized. For some strange reason, Jean actually liked it. Jean shifted his gaze to look at Marco again, who still seemed disappointed because of his drawing._

"_I like yours, too." Jean suddenly told him as he scratched the back of his head with some embarrassment. He didn't really know Marco, but he seemed like a really nice person. So far, since the beginning of school, he had been the only one that had actually bothered to talk to him in a nice way. "I mean, it's pretty and all."_

"_Really?" He responded and face slowly began to light up. He smiled at him again and lifted his paper in front of him. "I'm glad you like it! I hope it gets better when I finish coloring it!"_

"_Here." Jean pushed his crayons toward him since it seemed that Marco didn't have enough to finish his drawing. Marco looked at him with some confusion before he understood that Jean was letting him borrow them. "You can use them if you want too. I think I'm going to ask the teacher if I can start over with my picture."_

"_But, why?" Marco asked him as his hands slowly picked up the crayons from the table. Jean let out a sigh while he looked at his drawing that was laying in front of him. He had wanted his drawing to be the best in the class, but now he would have to start over because he messed up with the colors. Then again, how was he supposed to know what the colors of the rainbow were? He rarely saw them and whenever one appeared, it was usually smudged against the sky. "I think it looks pretty the way it is. Please don't throw it away."_

"_Okay. Okay." Jean told him before giving him a small smile of his own. "I'm going to get another clean paper, so you can have this drawing. I don't want it. "_

"_Wow! Really?" Marco replied with joy and Jean couldn't help but feel praised and acknowledged. He crossed his hands coolly as he watched the freckled buy, Marco, gleam over his paper. He looked at it happily before he lifted his head with a wide smile. "Thanks a lot, Jean! I will keep it forever!"_

…

His phone was ringing. He could hear it across the room, but he didn't feel like getting up from his bed. He was so tired and exhausted. School was wearing him out and recently the teachers had been giving out way more homework than usual. Aside from that, he was busy with clubs and sports, which gave him very little time for himself. A couple of seconds ticked by and his phone suddenly fell silent. However, it wasn't long before it started ringing again.

"I'm coming! Geez! Is that urgent?!" Jean exclaimed to himself angrily as he got up from his bed. He walked across his room and picked up his phone that was laying on his desk. He checked the caller id and he wasn't all surprised to find out who the caller was. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Jean answered his phone before he headed back toward his bed.

"What is it, Marco? Don't you know what time it is? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Jean greeted him as he dropped himself on top of the mattress. Marco didn't say anything and that was enough for Jean to confirm that he was laughing. "What do you want, Marco?"

"Someone sounds grouchy." Marco teased him with a sarcastic voice, but Jean wasn't in the mood to deal with his humor. Still, after knowing him for years, Jean knew how to cope with joyous personality. "I'm sorry I woke you up. There was just something important I needed to tell you. I just couldn't wait until tomorrow. I wanted you to be the first person to know."

"What is it?" Jean replied a little bit too quickly for his own liking. He jolted up from the bed and waited for a response from his best friend. Gripping cellphone tightly, Jean's patience ran out in mere seconds. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing bad, Jean." Marco told him with a small laugh in the end. Jean scooted himself back on the bed until his spine was leaning against the wall. He let out a sigh, placing his hand over his head. "You see, the thing, is," Marco paused again before Jean heard him take in a deep breath. "I got my acceptance letter in the mail today. I got accepted into the same university you did. Can you believe that?"

"Wait, are you serious?" Jean suddenly gasped, his eyes widen with surprise. He tried to hide some his happiness and excitement as he congratulated his best friend. "That's great, Marco! I mean, congrats. We'll be able to stick around each for a while longer, huh?"

"It would seem so." Marco replied and even though Jean wasn't looking him, he knew that Marco was smiling nonstop. They had worked so hard to get into that university and now, it seemed like all their studying had paid off. They were both going to college and to make things even better, they were going to the same one. "You have no idea how excited I got when I saw the letter in the mail. I was planning on telling you tomorrow, but I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer. You know, I really can't wait to start now. It's going to be so much fun especially since I'll have you around."

There was an awkward silence between them for the next seconds to come and Jean quickly tried to push away Marco's flattering words. They had known each other since kindergarten and from then on, they had both made many beautiful memories together.

"Yeah, I guess." Jean finally responded, scratching the back of his head. There was another sudden and awkward moment of silence between them and Jean wasn't entirely sure how to break it. "You know, it's getting pretty late and I'm feeling kind of tired. I don't want to end falling asleep on you like I did last."

"You're right. We do have school tomorrow after all and I'm just taking up your time." Marco told him in an honest and sincere tone of voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jean. Hope you get a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, you too." Jean told him plainly again, sitting up on the bed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, they both hung up and Jean was surrounded by silence again. He still couldn't believe that he and Marco were actually getting the chance to go to the same university. They had been together since elementary and now, they would also be able to share their adulthood with each other. Jean let out a sigh as he laid back on his bed. He slowly placed his head over his pillow before his eyes darted to the ceiling.

Marco Bodt. He had been his best friend since he could remember. He was always there for him. He was like the brother, the family that he always wished to have. In other words, Marco was special to him and he was probably willing to do anything for him. However, there were times when Jean felt like he couldn't keep up with him. They were so different and their personalities tended to drift apart at times.

Ever since he could remember, Marco was always better at making friends. He had a bright smile that could probably capture anyone's attention. He was a smart cautious guy that always looked out for others and he had probably stopped him a million times from fighting Eren Jaeger, a stupid classmate of his he had known since kindergarten as well. However, because of friendly and gullible attitude, Marco was always the bully's target and he was always the one that had to defend him.

Jean turned around on the bed until he found a comfortable position. Then, he grabbed his blanket that was laying under his feet. He pulled it over his body and it wasn't long before his eyes slowly started to close. He had had such a long day at school and it felt so good to be in his room, underneath his blanket.

He still so excited though. He and Marco had considered the possibility of going to the same university, but now, it was real. It was actually going to happen. The idea of going to college was exciting, but, at the same time, it was a bit intimidating. Jean now knew that everything was going to be okay because he was going to have Marco with him.

…


End file.
